The House Guest
by GingerWitchWriter
Summary: Newly-weds Ron and Hermione have a sudden house guest...will their presence get in the way of married bliss and what can they do to rectify the situation?


_I'm back...with a short little ficlet thingie! I have no idea where this idea came from, but I hope you enjoy it :)_

* * *

"Ron!" I barged into the bathroom where he was currently taking a shower. It was almost impossible to see anything through all the steam that filled the small en-suite – he always had liked a practically scalding hot shower after a rough day at work. "Ron!" I repeated and blindingly reached out to whip the shower curtain back when it became obvious that he hadn't heard me. He was totally oblivious to my presence as he hummed a tune to himself, shaking his hips and scrubbing shampoo into his hair.

As the steamed cleared a little, escaping through the open doorway, I momentarily became distracted by the sight of his pale backside, complete with the slightly darker splodge of a birthmark right in the centre of his left bum cheek as he shook it side to side. I bit my bottom lip and watched with admiration as the water and soapy suds poured down his strong back and into the crevice of his bum, before I shook my head, remembering the reason I had come looking for him.

"Ron!" I repeated and poked said backside.

He squealed loudly and jumped almost a foot in the air before spinning around, wiping shampoo from his eyes and looking for anything to defend himself with as he grabbed the shower curtain to cover his body. "What the bloody hell is going on?" he demanded.

"We need to talk," I told him solemnly as I sat down on the closed loo seat now that I had his attention.

"Right now?" he raised an eyebrow, now realising that the only danger was me, his wife.

"Yes," I nodded. "Right now."

"What about?" he groaned resignedly and shut the water off so he could hear me and let go of the shower curtain.

"You know what about!" I fixed him with a stern look. "This...this mess we're in!" I threw my arms into the air. "We can't go on like this much longer!"

Ron merely shrugged and then winced as he screwed an eye shut - shampoo bubbles were running down his face and into his eyes. "Well, I don't know what you expect me to do about it," he grumbled, reaching for a towel to wipe the suds from his face.

"You haven't even tried! It seems you're not bothered about it at all."

He sighed, slumping back against the shower wall and then quickly slipped the towel lower to cover himself when he realised I was glancing down his body.

"Oh pack it in," I laughed and snatched the towel from him. "It's not like I haven't seen it all before and from a much closer proximity," I needlessly reminded him. "Anyway, why aren't you doing anything to fix this whole stupid mess?"

"Hermione," he sighed, running a hand over his face in frustration. "Love," he smiled, hoping to win me over. "Can we please talk about this in a few minutes when I haven't got bloody shampoo trying to blind me and you're not staring at my dick?"

"You never used to complain when I stared at you naked," I sulked, putting the towel back tidily on the rail.

"Usually when we're naked we're not discussing things like this, are we?" he raised an eyebrow again. "Look, give me a minute or so to rinse my hair and we'll talk, all right?" he asked, already turning the water back on.

"Fine!" I sighed and left him to finish his shower in privacy.

Ron appeared from our en-suite bathroom a couple of minutes later with nothing but a fluffy white towel hanging rather low on his hips. Beads of water still clung to his skin as he rubbed his hair dry with another towel and, as I set my book back on my bedside table, I tried very hard not to become distracted by his body, but instead waited expectantly for him to continue our conversation.

"Right," he flung his wet towel from his head towards the laundry basket, where it missed and unsurprisingly he ignored, before flopping down on his front across the bottom of our bed in front of me. "Now, what were you waffling on about?" he sighed, rolling to his side and propping himself up on an elbow so he could look at me.

"I told you!" I began frustratingly. "About this messy situation we've currently found ourselves in."

"Messy?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, messy. This is hardly an ideal situation for us, is it?" I asked him.

"And what do you mean by that, dear wife?" he grinned at me and I fought uselessly against a smile in return. I knew it was becoming rather annoying to everyone else, but Ron and I had been married less than two months, so I thought we should be forgiven for the fact that we had developed this sickeningly sweet habit of referring to each other as husband and wife. The titles for each other were still somewhat new to us after all.

"It's a mess because they're putting us both in the middle here. It's a bit selfish."

"Selfish?" he looked surprised, both eyebrows raised now. "That's going a bit far, love."

"Well, what would you call it? I know she's your sister and I love her as if she were my sister too. But Harry is our best friend and we love him too, so they're making this really hard for us."

Ron nodded, thoughtfully. "I can see what you mean," he reluctantly agreed. "But, I told Gin' she can stay as long as she needs."

"Which is fair enough, she's family. I just don't want Harry to think we're taking sides in this ridiculous fight between them."

"He doesn't," Ron tried to assure me. "I mean, he actually thanked me for letting her stay. After he's asked me how she is every day. I know he really misses her."

"Then why the hell is he not over here begging her to come home?" I wondered, hating what was happening between the two people I considered my best friends, outside of my marriage that was. "Everyone gets cold feet and argues about wedding plans. Heck, we did, but we made it down the aisle and we're totally fine now."

"Yeah, we are, wife," Ron grinned and pulled me into his arms, rolling me on top of him as he fell onto his back.

"Ron!" I shrieked and lightly smacked his shoulder. "Pack it in, husband," I tickled his ribs. "You know we can't do that, your sister is right across the hall in our spare room!" I widened my eyes at him.

"So," he shrugged and pulled aside my blouse to bare a shoulder, "never stopped you when we were all sharing the flat above the shop. Besides, we are married now, dear wife," he smirked at me again, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles then slowly kissed his way up my arm.

I smiled, almost ready to give in. But the truth was, I felt sort of guilty feeling so happy and in love when the pair of them were quite obviously miserable. "No, Ron, stop," he stopped touching me instantly and sighed. "You need to do something about it."

"Me?" He looked alarmed at the thought. "I think we're better off staying out of their relationship, don't you?"

"Ron, letting her stay here, hiding from her fiancé IS getting involved in their relationship. They need to make up and get their wedding back on track, because you know as well as I do that they're utterly miserable without one another."

"Yeah," he sighed and let his head fall back, so that it was almost dangling off the bed. "They're both such stubborn gits though!" he groaned.

"Takes one to know one," I poked his chest. "In any case, getting the pair of them sorted out will be to our benefit too," I gave him my sweetest smile.

"Our benefit? How did you work that one out? Sometimes I'd love to know how your head works," he shook his own head, bemused.

"Yes, for our benefit. Ron, husband, we _are_ newly-weds, this is _our_ home, we should be perfectly free to...well, enjoy one another without considering silencing charms or that someone might walk in on us. And neither of them seem to care that they might be...cramping our style!"

He laughed at that. "To be fair, Gin has barely been here the last two days," he pointed out. "She's always out training or something."

"True," I nodded, knowing she was probably keeping busy and getting on with things to stop herself brooding about it. "But, we never know when she'll come back and, well, I can't...ravish you in the kitchen or something if the mood so takes me, not when it's possible she can walk right in and..."

"Hold on, ravish me?" he was chuckling.

"Yes...take advantage of you, have my way with you," I explained what I meant.

"Oh, you mean shag me on the kitchen table again?" he laughed louder and then looked serious. "Wait, we can't?" Now he was concerned.

"Do you really want your sister to walk in on your naked pale arse in the kitchen, or the lounge or the staircase?" I asked him, thinking on previous ravishing episodes whilst we'd been christening the house upon our return from our honeymoon.

He got a goofy looking grin on his face as he obviously remembered them too, then cleared his throat. "Erm, no," he shook his head. "Absolutely not."

"Exactly. Which is why we need to fix this and get them back together."

"So, how do we do that?"

"I wish I knew," I sighed and climbed off Ron's lap, glad he was taking this seriously now, even if it was only because he was worried about his sex life. "Well, I suppose for a start you can try talking to Harry and I'll talk to Ginny and find out what the problem is between them. Then...we work from there."

"Okay," Ron nodded. "I'll take Harry out for a drink after work tomorrow or something?" he suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll grab a bottle of wine on my way home, then Ginny and I can have a chat whilst you're out." I got up from the bed then, straightening my skirt. "Anyway, get dressed now and I'll go put dinner on," I told him.

"Hey, Hermione," he called, rolling over to face the door I was about to walk out of.

"Yes?" I turned to look at him, where he lay half naked on our bed, his red hair damp and rumpled and found I had never found him more attractive.

"Promise me that as soon as we get them back together and we have the house back to ourselves, that you will ravish me anywhere I ask?" he winked.

I laughed once and then grinned at him. "Of course, husband," I replied, before leaving the room and heard him emit a frustrated groan behind me.

* * *

Ron was home late the following evening, so late that I had already gone to bed when he quietly tried to sneak into our bedroom and get undressed. I didn't mind, I knew where he was going and what he'd been doing. Besides, I'd had somewhat of a late night myself on the couch with Ginny and a bottle of wine between us.

As he climbed under the duvet with me, he realised I was still awake. "Sorry I'm so late," he whispered into the darkness and leant over to softly kiss my lips – he tasted of Firewhiskey and Ale, but I didn't mind too much. "Have you ever noticed," he grunted as he got comfortable in bed and snuggled up against me, "how much Harry waffles on after a few drinks?" he snorted, curling his arm under my head and tugging me towards him.

"Yes, I clearly remember him going on at our wedding about how much he loved the pair of us and how happy he was for us, repeatedly!" I chuckled and lay my head on his chest contently. "So, how did it go? Did you get anything out of him?" I asked, hopeful.

Ron sighed and scratched his head. "Well, I did find out how their argument started..." he began, reaching for my hand and lacing his fingers through mine.

"What happened?" I cut him off, eagerly. Ginny wouldn't tell me, just that it had been ridiculous. Well, that and how she thought Harry was a prat!

"Apparently," he began, whilst rubbing his thumb back and forth across my knuckles, "she said something about how they might have to change the date of their wedding, in case it clashed with a match if they got through to the championships this season. And Harry then told her that it sounded as though she cared more about the team than she did about him or wanting to marry him."

"He didn't?" I gasped. That was a bit low of Harry, even if I could see his point.

"Uh huh," he nodded, his head atop of mine where it was tucked under his chin. "He knows it was a dumb thing to say because he understands what the team means to her. But she also should know how bloody proud he is of her and that he didn't mean it like that. Daft git would do anything for my sister, including changing their wedding date umpteen times."

I sighed, knowing Ron was right. Harry didn't really care when the date was, he just wanted to marry her and the sooner the better. "You can see where he's coming from though, this would be the third time she's wanted to change it." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know," he mumbled. "I say he has the right to be a bit pissed off about it really."

"So, then what happened?" I wondered.

"Oh, you know my sister," he shrugged one shoulder, "and the Weasley temper. She got pissed off with him and they had a huge fight about anything and everything, including apparently, that he'd shaved that morning and had only done it to spite her because he knew she liked his beard." Ron chuckled.

"That beard was hideous," I screwed my nose up at the thought of it – it had been a recent addition to Harry's face and it really hadn't suited him.

"That's not what you said the last time I came home with some facial scruff," he quipped, resting his cheek against the top of my head.

"That's because it made you look rugged and even more handsome," I replied, receiving a kiss on the top of my head for the compliment. "Harry just looked rather like a...a vagrant," I added as Ron laughed. "Plus, I did like the way it felt when you'd kiss your way down my body and...erm, further," I gulped as I blushed upon realising what I had just admitted to him.

I felt Ron's somewhat smug grin against my head as his hold on me tightened. "That's me throwing out my razor in the morning," he muttered, sounding rather cocky.

I rolled my eyes, but secretly the thought of him with some facial scruff again was exciting. "Your mum won't like it," I warned him.

"Mum doesn't have to live with it. There's only one woman's approval I need," he dipped his head to kiss my neck and then his lips sought out mine and shared a long, lazy kiss. "So, anyway, what did you get out of Ginny?"

"Not a lot," I yawned, brushing my hair aside and making my head more comfortable on Ron's shoulder. "She proclaimed that all men are stupid."

"Hey," he interrupted, lifting his head slightly to glare at me.

"Oh hush, I'm not saying I agreed with her," I rolled my eyes and pushed his head back down. "She called Harry a prat a few times."

"He is," he interrupted me again.

"She also muttered something about how she'd chop all her hair off and see how he likes it. Which makes sense since you told me the thing about him shaving. Other than that, she didn't want to talk about it, she managed to change the subject every time I tried to bring it up. I even tried asking her how wedding plans were going, but she just scoffed at me before pouring herself another glass of wine and asking me about work."

"And, knowing you," he mumbled, sleepily, "you got carried away telling her how work was."

"She asked," I sighed softly, too tired to defend myself and feeling quite cosy and sleepy cuddled up with Ron beneath the duvet.

"So, what are we going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know," I yawned again. "Get them to talk..."

"Somehow," he yawned.

"Yeah, somehow," I agreed and felt my eyelids close. The pair of us were silent after that, breathing becoming heavier and deeper. "Ron," I mumbled after a few moments.

"Mmm?" he replied.

"I love you,"

"Love you too," he responded with a sloppy kiss to my forehead before we both fell asleep.

* * *

I stepped from the floo wearily, relieved to be home. It had been a hectic day and now all I wanted was to kick my shoes off, eat dinner and enjoy a quiet evening in with my husband. "I'm home!" I called to anyone who wished to know as I trudged wearily down the hallway towards the sounds I heard coming from the kitchen.

Ron then appeared in the doorway at the end of the hall, wearing that ratty old Cannons T-shirt he loved so much and a pair of well worn shorts I swear he'd owned since his school days. An apron that his Mum had made for him when it became known he enjoyed cooking for us, completed his outfit. In one hand was a tea towel and in the other, a spatula.

"Hey love," he greeted me with a tender kiss on the lips, tossing the tea towel aside to wrap his arms around me.

"Oh brilliant," I sighed happily after we parted, "you've already made a start on dinner. I'm starving, only had chance to grab half a sandwich at lunch."

"Why did you only have time for that?" he frowned. I knew he often worried about me taking on too much and working too hard. I think he felt he should be there, by my side, reminding me to eat and look after myself sometimes.

"Busy day, don't ask," I brushed away his concern with a flap of my hand, as touched as I was.

He raised an eyebrow in silence, yet returned to his cooking to check it's progress. Pans were bubbling away on the hob and there was a delicious smell coming from somewhere.

"So, what are we having?" I asked, hopping onto the worktop beside him to watch him work. I absolutely loved that I had a man who could cook. And not only cook, but as well as Ron could. Who knew he had that skill hiding in him? He usually did most of the cooking at home and he revelled in doing so.

Ron peaked inside a pan and gave it a quick stir before carefully replacing the lid. "I managed to get some of those fresh salmon fillets you really enjoyed the other week," he looked up at me with a smile. "They were just marking them down when I got to the shop," he added, looking pleased with himself for grabbing a bargain as well.

"Mmm." My stomach was rumbling at the thought, remembering how delicious that meal had been.

"I've already got it baking in the oven." Which would explain the delicious smell, I realised. "Then, we have some new potatoes, carrots and French beans to go with it," he pointed to each pan in turn.

"And in that one?" I asked, noting the pan he'd been stirring.

He gave me a little smirk before replying and turned to give it another stir. "Home-made parsley sauce. Mum's recipe."

I shook my head slowly, beyond impressed with him. "Whatever did I do to deserve you?" I grasped his chin between my fingers and pulled his face down to kiss his soft lips.

He shrugged one shoulder sheepishly as the tips of his ears turned red. "Oh, I don't know. Perhaps saved my life a dozen times or so."

"And I shall be eternally grateful that I did." I kissed him again before letting him go.

He laughed to hide his discomfort at my praise. He still had a little trouble accepting praise when he did something that was actually amazing, which happened to be often. "Here, see if this is cooked enough," he fished into the saucepan with his spatula and pulled out one of the beans. Blowing on it carefully, he then held the long green vegetable between his fingers and fed it to me.

I bit down on it, the texture was perfect – cooked with just the right crunch. When I got to the end of it, I didn't stop, but carried on, gazed into his eyes and nibbled his fingers too before sucking them clean. "Mmm, perfect," I sighed. "Here, you try one," I took the spatula from him and fished one out myself. He ate his the same way, sucking on my fingers seductively. "What do you think?" I asked, feeling myself becoming a little flustered at the food foreplay.

"I might need another taste," he grinned and slid his hips between my thighs where I was sat on the worktop. He then pulled the utensil from my hand, took another bean from the pan and popped it into his mouth, leaving the end hanging out. He moved towards me and I grabbed the other end with my teeth until we were eating it together, meeting in the middle a bit like the Disney movie 'Lady and The Tramp', that I had so enjoyed as a child, when the dogs had been eating the spaghetti.

I swallowed my half quickly as his lips hastily captured mine in a heated kiss. I sighed gently as my arms wrapped around him – this is what I had needed all day. Ron somehow always managed to disperse my tension, simply with his touch and especially with his kisses, so that I soon felt the headache that had been coming on all afternoon evaporate as the kiss deepened.

He carefully pulled my neat, white blouse from my skirt and his fingertips softly stroked the skin at my waist, back and forth as we clung to one another, locked in the passionate kiss. Ron groaned and grasped my bum, jerking me forwards slightly on the kitchen counter, pulling me even closer until our hips almost touched.

My own hands were busy, untying the apron at his back and then sliding my hands into the back of his shorts, stroking a soft bum cheek. I loved the feel of his silky skin beneath my hands. I indulged in enjoying the heat and scent of his skin as I held him, my husband, my man, my best friend against me, never once breaking the kiss.

His hands were creeping up the back of my clothes, towards my bra strap as my own grasped handfuls of his bum cheeks, pushing him against me. He was growing hard, moans were leaving one another's mouths and I knew we were in danger here of completely forgetting about our dinner and allowing it to burn.

"Hi, it's only me. I, erm...oh...erm, sorry!" Ginny stumbled on her words.

Ron and I leapt apart so sharply I almost slid off the counter worktop. "Ginny!" Ron grunted.

"Hi," I smiled at her, trying to act nonchalant as I smoothed my skirt down and Ron ignored her, instead turning to check on the food.

"I am sorry, I did call out." I could tell she was fighting against the giggles.

"Oh, we, erm, we didn't hear you," I jumped off the counter, feeling silly sat up there with an audience now and tucked my shirt back into my skirt.

"That's obvious," she muttered under her breath, still fighting laughter.

Ron looked at me and rolled his eyes. I smiled and patted his shoulder, understanding him perfectly as I moved to the cupboard for plates and began laying the table. "Do you want to join us for dinner?" I asked, stalling on how many plates to get out. "I'm sure there will be enough to go around." Ron shot me a dirty look over his shoulder – apparently he hadn't planned on catering for his sister as well.

"Oh, no. I mean, it's smells great, but that's what I popped in to tell you. Well, that and to get changed," she looked down at her muddy Quidditch training uniform.

I smiled and shared a look with Ron when he turned from the oven as he brought out the salmon, both of us hoping she was about to tell us she had decided to go home to Harry or at least head home to talk to him.

"I'm meeting some of the girls from the team for dinner," she went on. "So, don't worry about me. And, you can erm, enjoy your evening and, erm, get back to, well...whatever you were doing." She finally gave in to her giggles as she headed out of the kitchen.

The minute she was gone, Ron grabbed me. "We have GOT to bloody well get her back home with Harry!" he hissed urgently.

"Yes, and soon!" I agreed, kissing his lips swiftly.

We each busied ourselves then with the task of setting the table and serving up our meal, both of us working well together, almost like a synchronised dance around the kitchen as we orbited easily around one another. Sitting down to eat, Ron poured us each a glass of white wine whilst I took a mouthful of my food and moaned gratefully.

"This is wonderful, thank you." I savoured the taste and gave him a big smile.

He grinned back in thanks, his mouth already full as we each tucked in. Silence reigned for a short while as we each enjoyed our dinner and sitting down together for the first time since breakfast. Was it ridiculous to admit that I missed him when I was at work all day? Well, tough if it was, because I did...and after all, we were newly-weds.

"See you later!" Ginny called, thundering back down the stairs which was quickly followed by a slam of the front door as she left to meet her team mates.

"Right, what are we going to do?" I asked him, pausing to take a sip of my wine.

"About?" Ron asked, focused on cutting up his food.

"Our house guest," I hissed. "How do we get the pair of them back together."

Ron shrugged. "I dunno...I mean, she's acting as though she doesn't care, because that's what she does. And Harry is brooding about it, because that's what he does. They're as pathetic as each other." He picked up his own glass and drank some wine.

"Hmm," I sighed around another mouthful of food. "What we need," I wiped my mouth on a napkin, "is to just get them to talk to each other."

"And how do we do that?" he looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, they're both literally avoiding one another."

"They do…, erm, I mean, you do think that they actually want to get back together?" I asked nervously. It was hard to imagine the pair of them not being a couple – they were perfect for one another and had already been together for so long.

"Oh yeah," Ron waved his fork in the air. "Harry is a bloody miserable mess without her. And Gin'..."

"Acts like she doesn't care!" I finished with a defeated sigh.

"Oh, she does. She cares more than she will admit. That's probably why she's gone out again, to avoid us and any awkward questions and stuff. With the team, she can pretend none of it is happening. With us, she has to face up to it and she can't stand that."

I looked at him impressed, though it really shouldn't be a surprise that he would know his sister so well – he had known her his entire life after all – even shared a bathtub with her once upon a time.

"So, I repeat...what are we going to do?"

No answer came to either of us as we finished our meal, despite us tossing ideas back and forth. We both knew it was useless persuading Harry to come over here or inviting him for dinner or something – he'd insist on giving Ginny her space. Whilst I cleared the table and got the pots washing, Ron served strawberry cheesecake for dessert, though he admitted he'd bought it. Not that I was bothered about that, dinner had been delicious and I didn't expect him to do everything after all – I was grateful for everything he did do. After demolishing half the cake between us and tidied the rest of the kitchen, we retired to the lounge to finish our wine.

Ron turned the wireless on to a satire show that he particularly enjoyed as I picked up my book – one of many I had dotted around the house half finished. He pulled my feet onto his lap and rubbed each one as he listened to and chuckled along with his show and I read my book. It was a scene of perfect contentment with one another, relaxing after a long work day and enjoying our down time together.

So far married life was proving to be everything I had hoped it would be. That's not to say we didn't still have the odd spat about stupid things, because we did and some of those spats turned into ridiculous, furious arguments. Except these days we seemed to make up sooner and much more physically. I think the fact we'd always had a close friendship, before it turned into a romantic, intimate relationship had brought us about as close as two people could be – we knew and understood one another better than anyone else these days. I hadn't really expected marriage to actually change anything at all in our relationship – it had just seemed like the next step we should take, and yet it had somehow cemented a deeper, more intense connection between us and I was glad we'd taken the plunge.

"How about," Ron started as his show finished and he turned the wireless down. I raised my head from my book, realising I hadn't really been taking in a word of it. I'd been consumed with thoughts of Harry and Ginny instead and how to get them into the same room together. Because I was quite sure that if they only saw one another, all silly arguments would be forgotten, apologies would be offered and they'd make up.

"Yes?" I urged him to continue.

"Well, we know he won't come here and she definitely won't go there since they're both such prats when they want to be. But, what if we sort of...tell them a fib?" he suggested,

"Such as?" I put my book down, interested in his idea.

"I thought you could ask Ginny to meet you at...I don't know, a pub or something after work. Probably nowhere popular – they don't need an audience. And I can ask Harry to come with me to the same place. Only...we don't let on to either of them about it."

"Right, so when they get there, we aren't at the pub, it's just them? They'll probably seen one another and run for it or something." I shook my head.

"Okay, so we'll be there as well, acting as a, erm...a mediator! Somehow, we get them talking and, once they make up, we can slip out and leave them to it."

I nodded, agreeing with his idea. "Sounds like a plan," I pulled my feet from his lap and sidled up next to him. "My clever. Strategic. Husband." I punctuated each word with a soft kiss.

"Y'know," he waggled an eyebrow, "Ginny is still out, fancy going upstairs and...getting an early night?" he pulled me towards him for a deeper kiss.

I nodded. "Yes," I breathed and impatiently followed him up to our room.

* * *

"Hermione! What's the rush? And stop pushing me," Ginny grumbled as I steered her down the pathway towards the local pub in the Muggle village that Ron and I now lived just outside of.

"Sorry, just making sure you're going the right way."

"Honestly, I've never known you to be so eager to get to a pub. Do you need a drink that bad? Or, are you wanting to get home to Ron so you two can fool around in the kitchen a bit more," she chortled.

"That was...I didn't, we don't..." I stammered over my words and realised she was laughing at me as I blushed, remembering her walking in on us just a couple of nights ago.

"Oh, come on," she giggled and shook her head as she pushed the doors open. "Honestly, I know you're newly-weds and every...oh. You didn't say Ron was meeting us too," she eyed me suspiciously, obviously having caught sight of Ron's red head across the bar.

"Yes, he did mention he might pop in and join us if he got off work in time," I mumbled.

"Well, if you think I'm going to..." She cut herself off as she noticed someone join Ron at the table he was sitting at. Harry passed him a drink and then sat down. "Oh no. No, no, no!" Ginny muttered as she tried to push me aside and head through the doors again.

"No you don't!" I shoved her back and stood with my arms outstretched against the doors. "Get in there!" I pointed towards their table in the back.

"Not with him there!" She hissed the word 'him' with such contempt. "You bloody well set me up, didn't you? I'm not stupid!"

"Actually, you are!" I told her honestly. "The pair of you are bloody stupid because you won't even talk to each other. So, get over there, right now!"

"You've spent too long with my git of a brother," she grumbled under her breath. "Hermione, please...I can't."

"Yes you bloody well can!" Maybe she was right, I _was_ picking up Ron's bad habits and his rather crude vocabulary, I thought to myself. "Look, breaking up over some silly fight is ridiculous and you know it. So, you can just sit and glare at each other for all I care. But, you are going to sit with us and have a drink, all right?" I ranted at her, whilst shoving her forwards since we were blocking the front door.

Ginny muttered under her breath and moved rather stubbornly the whole time we made our way to their table.

"Hi love," Ron grinned at me and jumped out of his seat to kiss me softly. "Perfect timing, we just go here. What do you want to drink?" he asked, looking between me and his sister.

"Hi, I'd love a white wine, please," I replied, squeezing his hand as he moved past me.

"Right," he nodded. "Ginny?" he asked.

"Whatever!" she muttered, childishly.

He looked at me and widened his eyes, unsure whether this was such a good idea now – it hadn't started well. "Fair enough," he replied and headed off to get my drink.

I took the seat opposite Ron, leaving Ginny to sit opposite Harry. "Hi Harry. Good day at work?"I asked.

"Fine," he muttered.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah, Ron said you were busy, thought you were about to make a break through on a case you've both been working on?" I asked.

"Something like that," he mumbled, fiddling with a beer mat.

"Right," I nodded. "I've had a busy week, got a lot going on, but its all good. A drink to relax after work is always nice though, don't you think?" I asked, trying to entice either of them into a conversation.

"I'm in the middle of training. So, no alcohol," Ginny muttered sullenly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Ron could you get an orange juice or something though?" I looked over my shoulder to where he was just paying for mine.

No answer from either of them. Ginny was picking at her nails, flaking bits off of them, Harry was slowly destroying that beer mat, shredding it to pieces as the pair of them ignored one another.

Ron returned then. "Here you go love," he placed my drink down and kissed the side of my head. "Decided on a drink yet?" he asked Ginny again as he retook his seat.

"No!" she grunted, not looking up.

I looked over at Ron and shared a look with him again, grimacing. Maybe this wasn't a good idea at all – the pair of them looked so uncomfortable and pathetic it was depressing. Though, I suppose at least they weren't yelling at one another or anything. Yet.

Ron and I tried to continue a perfectly normal conversation between us as they sat ignoring one another in stony silence. We were just debating whether or not to order some food to eat here as well or get a take-a-way from the place down the street to take home when one of them finally cracked.

"I see you haven't shaved." Ginny muttered, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"See you haven't chopped your hair off," Harry replied, tossing what was left of the beer mat back onto the table.

More silence followed, which Ron and I tried to fill with inane chatter about our day. Harry fiddled with his near empty glass as Ginny now found the tips of her hair fascinating. Finally, Harry took a deep breath, looked up and blurted out; "I'm sorry!" Almost at exactly the same time that Ginny tossed her hair back over her shoulder and uttered the exact same two words.

"It was stupid!" Harry continued.

"So, so stupid," Ginny shook her head and grasped onto his hand as it sought out hers across the table. They shared a smile and Ron and I both breathed a silent sigh of relief. We thought we'd made things worse there for a moment.

"Gin', listen," Harry stroked her knuckles with his thumb and gazed at her, the pair of them forgot we were even here. "I don't care when or where or even how we get married. I just want to be married to you. I want us to be a family, properly and legally and all that. So, if you need to change the date again, then..."

"No," she shook her head forcefully.

"No?" Harry looked worried and Ron shot me a startled look.

Ginny smiled. "I mean," she began softly and grasped both of his hands firmly in hers, "I just want to marry you too. I want to be your wife, to be Mrs Potter." Harry's entire face lit up. "So, we'll get married on the date we planned, no matter what. Bloody team can do without me if it comes to it. You're more important to me and I'm sorry I made you feel otherwise," she whispered.

"Ginny!" Harry was grinning and laughing all at the same time. "Merlin, I love you." he exclaimed as he leapt from his seat and almost launched himself across the table at her, taking her in his arms.

"I love you too," she sighed softly, falling into him as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

"Well," Ron downed the last of his drink. "I think that's our cue," he winked at me.

"I think you're right," I agreed and finished my wine.

"So, take away and a quiet night in?" he asked, holding out his hand to me as we both stood up.

"Perfect," I nodded, taking his outstretched hand.

Harry and Ginny hadn't come up for air yet, they hadn't even noticed us moving and their kiss was becoming rather disgusting, considering they were in a public place. They were just lucky this was a Muggle pub – otherwise they'd find their photo splashed on the front of The Daily Prophet in the morning. A couple of the locals at the bar noticed them and began whistling as Ron put his arm around me.

"Of course, this now means we get the house to ourselves again," he pointed out.

"It does," I agreed.

"So, I believe that we have some ravishing to do," he snickered as he hurried his steps out of the pub.

"I believe there will be lots of ravishing tonight," I giggled, easily keeping up with him.

Once outside and hidden in the darkness of the large oak tree, we Apparated home where we made the very most of having our house to ourselves once again.

* * *

 _Please leave me a review...it would make me smile (well, if it's nice) And, I have been a busy bee the last few weeks and written a few little ficlets...they all need editing though, so some nice reviews will make me get on with that so I can post more!_

 _Thank you :)_


End file.
